


Flies Never to be Regained

by MelAncrath



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Endgame, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-18 14:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18701386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelAncrath/pseuds/MelAncrath
Summary: The 2012 timeline diverged when Loki escaped with the space stone, Steve told his past self about Bucky, and posed as an agent of Hydra. Why not give it a fighting chance?





	Flies Never to be Regained

There was a lot going on. Loki had escaped with the cube, Tony had had a heart attack, and Steve had gotten beat up by... himself? Maybe Loki? Nobody was sure. But one moment he lost the fight for the scepter and then, inexplicably, he came to with the scepter’s case tucked under his arms like it had been placed there for safekeeping.

When he opened the box to see if the scepter was still in there he found that it was, and wrapped around it was a lengthy note that read “Dont give this to S.H.I.E.L.D.” and then went on in great detail about a Hydra conspiracy, a second super soldier program, the person pulling the strings behind Loki, strange warnings against artificial intelligence, time travel (or alternate dimensions, Steve wasn’t quite sure.), space stones, secret countries, wizards, his mom, his life before the army, his deepest hopes and fears, other people's deepest hopes and fears, the address of a shawarma place. All of it written in his own handwriting.

Maybe it was a joke, Thor kept telling them Loki was “mischievous,” Steve wasn’t sure he understood what that word meant. Maybe the big blond alien viking god was getting the translation wrong? What on earth has his life become, it’s only been two weeks since he woke up in the future. 

Better safe than sorry. Steve pockets the note, takes the gem out of the scepter (without touching it) and gives the case over to shield, explaining that he woke up after his fight with the gem missing.

He debates bringing the note up with some of the others. There are things written for everyone else too, not just him. 

Despite falling from space and having a heart attack Tony insists they go get shawarma. “I’ve almost died twice today, I think something is trying to keep me from trying shawarma but I won’t be deterred. What if it’s my new favorite food? We need to find out. You only live once.” and on and on, hyper vocalizing the whole few blocks walk to the exact address in the note. 

They sit amongst the rubble of the restaurant and eat sandwiches in silence. “What’s an infinity stone?” Thor almost chokes on his food.

“Where did you hear of those?” 

“Loki?” Steve’s not technically lying, he still isn’t sure Loki wasn’t the note’s author. But every second that passed he became a bit more convinced that another him had traveled from the future and after messing up Steve’s timeline by losing the “space stone,” had decided to give them all a heads up about some other things on the horizon. 

“Why would my brother tell you such things?”

“I’m not sure that’s why I’m asking you. To be mischievous?”

“The stones are not a joke. Even Loki- well maybe he would joke about them but what do they have to do with us today? The Tesseract is- no. The Tesseract is itself an object of great power, there is no reason to think it is-” Thor trails off.

“And the scepter?” Steve asks. Everyone else and Tony in particular are looking at him like he’s lost his mind. “Listen, I think there’s either more going on today than we thought or maybe whatever happened isn’t over but - “

“Oh it’s definitely not over.” Tony interrupts. “I’ve been up there. It’s a whole lot of bad just waiting for a chance to get back here. And we are woefully unprepared my friends. You think six yahoo’s are going to stop whatever apocalypse is looming around to corner? No way. We need to get prepared and in a big way.”

“WIth more suites?” Steve asks. “A suite of armor around the world? Controlled by artificial intelligence?”

“Ya know I hadn’t gotten that far but now that you mention it that is where I was going.”

“Maybe don’t?” Steve says. 

“Give me one good reason why-”

“Because it could create a super android that hates humanity and wants to wipe the slate clean?” 

“You’ve been reading too many sci-fi novels capsickle.” 

“I’m living in a sci-fi novel.” Steve mutters to himself. 

“You know he has a good point Tony.” Bruce says.

“What? We should halt progress because we’re afraid it might backfire? Where did that ever get us? Certainly not to-”

“I don’t mean it’s all bad.” Steve interrupts before Tony’s rant picks up more steam. “I just mean, be careful.” 

“Back to the stones.” Thor says. 

“Yeah, what are they?” Natasha asks.

“Six stones,” Thor answers. “Created at the start of our universe which reflect and control essential aspects of it. Space, Time, Reality, Consciousness… and there is no reason for you to know of them Captain, nor do I belive Loki would mention them to you. Speak.” 

Steve wrestles with the immense implications of his next actions but in the end these people had just proven themselves heros and if his letter from the future was right they would prove themselves again and again, protecting the earth, together. “I think, something happened that shouldn’t have. Tony you were right.”

“Yes, thank you.” 

Always with the quips, Steve continues on as if he wasn’t interrupted “Something is coming. The person behind Loki is out there and he isn’t done with us and I think we are less equipped to deal with, or are going to be less equipped to deal with him than we should be.” 

“I liked the part where you said I was right but what’s with all the doom and gloom predictions and the careful dancing around tense?” 

“Steve.” Natashas looks at him with an intense empathy. “Whatever you skirting around we can tell you want us to know. This is probably the least survilled we will ever be. Share the burden.” He can tell she’s doing her spy thing but she’s so good it’s still effective. 

“Your father’s name was Ivan.” Steve watches her facade freeze. “Clint, you have a farm. These aren’t things Loki would know, these aren’t things he would tell me. They seem more like things I would tell myself, If I wanted to be able to convince you I wasn’t crazy. Does that check out?” 

“It convinces me you’re something.” Clint says in a voice that’s low and dangerous. 

“The Tesseract was the Space Stone, the Scepter was the mind stone. Versions of us came from somewhere else and borrowed them. But in the process they messed up.” 

“Excuse me are you talking about time travel?” Tony cocks his head and Steve can see his mind racing down manic pathways behind his tired eyes. “Let me get this straight. You think the duplicate you fought wasn’t Loki in disguise but was actually future you, here to take past things from us to fight some future threat and now that we don’t have those past things in our present we can't face that future threat ourselves? That’s making a lot of assumptions and almost as little sense. Or do you have some armor piercing passphrase for me too?” 

“We have a stone, The other me gave it back.” Steve reaches into one of his belt pouches and pulls out the scepter’s gem. “I think it’s in a casing.” He says and hands it carefully to Thor. 

“This, is almost sounding believable.” Dr. Banner says. 

“Really, Bruce?” Tony asks ”Should we go back in time and kill hitler now? Why didn’t future you just go back in time and kill the big bad. Why are we even having this discussion? Why do we still exist in a world that had to deal with this? Branching timelines, this isn’t actually the past, we are a different universe. This universe was created when they came back here? Are we less real? Does anything we do matter?”

“Tony!” Steve cuts in, the man was talking faster and faster. Two brushes with death in as many hours and now Steve’s giving him an existential crisis. 

“Ivan.” Natasha says, almost to herself. “Any other tidbits from the future? Where are you getting this stuff. Did he talk to you?”

“He left a note.” Steve admits. 

Just then out of the corner of his eye Thor crushes the casing of the the Scepter’s gem in his hands revealing a yellow stone. 

“What does your other self want us to do Captain?” 

“I don’t know. Fight? With Loki gone our future might be different from his, that’s why he left us so much information. To try to make amends. He didn’t say what to do with it.” 

“So, what’s the threat?” Widow asks.

“Thanos. Something called a Titan. He’s looking for the stones to commit genocide on a universal scale. Crazy, I know - “

Natasha holds up a hand “I just saw flying space centipedes get taken out by norse mythology I’m inclined to have an open mind right now.” 

Steve chuckles. “What does it do?” He asks Thor.

“You were right, this is the Mind Stone. I know not the full extent of its powers.” Thor drops it onto the restaurant table, his hand smoking. “Few can touch a raw stone unaided.”

“Then what are we supposed to do with it?” Tony asks.

“The note says to be careful using it for artificial intelligence”

“But does it say not to though? What’s the exact phrasing? Is this some kind of monkey’s paw situation?” 

Steve reaches into another pouch and hands Tony the note. “I assume that’s what we used it for in the other me’s world.” 

“What is this? There's like, four paragraphs on your long lost friend and half a sentence on my future killer robot son? 

Steve shrugs, priorities. Which reminds him. “I need to find Bucky, if what this says is true, we can’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D.”’

“Then I shall take the stone back to Asgard.” Thor says. The table erupts into discord. “Odin's vault is the safest place for such an object.” 

“Oh like your brother doesn’t know how to sneak into daddy’s office?” Tony asks.

“He wouldn't need to” Bruce points out. “He has the space stone he can teleport.” 

“Fuck!” shouts Tony, banging his fist against the table. “They really did screw us didn’t they.” 

“Yeah,” says Steve. “But now we can be prepared. At the end there,” Steve points to the last page of the note. “There’s an address. We need to talk to some wizards?”


End file.
